Aster Coffee Lounge

How I heard of this place: Through my friend and avid coffee connoisseur, Jenelle. After enjoying our meal at Señor Moose, it was suggested that we go for a walk and partake of some delicious coffee. Aster had been on Jenelle’s list of coffee shops to try.
Type of cuisine: Sandwiches are served, but it seems that the draw is coffee, beer and wine. One of the first coffee and wine bars in the city, it seems to already have a following. The café boasts a Clover machine and Intelligentsia coffee.
Ambiance: Warm and cozy, with bar seating — both at the window and at the coffee bar, soft leather cushioned wooden chairs around coffee tables, as well as tables with upright chairs for focused patrons. Aster offers «a nice lounge atmosphere which is perfect whether you’re looking to read the paper with your morning coffee or wind down with a pal at night over a bottle of wine. Soothing colors, and a spacious atmosphere provide a nice spot to hammer away on your laptop or hang out in a vintage lounge chair and chat with a friend, or just enjoy your book». Quiet guests, relaxed mood, no fuss or commotion and great background music make it a perfect spot.
What I ordered: I ordered an eight ounce non-​fat hot cocoa ($ 2.10) made with house-​made dark chocolate and a Magic Bar ($ 2.50). The Magic Bar was similar to a Zoka bar, but about half the width, and made up of toasted coconut and bittersweet chocolate chips held together by caramelized sugar and other such ingredients. One dining companion ordered a twelve ounce hot cocoa. Another opted for a twelve ounce latte and my third dining companion went for the fresh brewed Clover Ethiopia Michelle (by Stumptown Coffee Roasters).
What I loved: Well, the Magic Bar was a perfect, sweet treat to end the evening! The hot cocoa was slightly bitter rather than sweet, which made it go down easily and very smoothly at that time of the evening. The coffee, being my first sample of fresh Clover brewed coffee was sweet and robust without having added any milk or sugar. I was highly impressed.
Why I loved it: The space is very inviting, large and open. The place knows its coffee but lacks the pretentious air.
Cost: Average ($ 2-​$ 4 for a cuppa joe)

The barristas are nice. But the coffee kinda sucks. They don’t know a difference between a long and short shot. They serve the bitter and stale intelligenisia along side stumptown. And the milk is never quite fluffy, always a bit over watered.

This place is just around the corner from my cousin’s house. When we woke up, she said to me, «there is this place that has waffles with cheese and ham on them. I thought it was strange at first, but they are so good!» After that, I had to try them. So we walked down to Aster’s and ordered one of this delicious waffles along with a bacon scone to share. The scone was a little dry and nothing to write home about, but the waffle! Oh tha waffle was delicious, the cheese was melted on top of the waffle and ham. It came with syrup, but I preferred it without. I am so glad my cousin suggested this place. I am visiting her again this weekend. So I may have to come back for another waffle!

Best coffee place in Ballard by far!
I came in here recently on a whim (bright blue chairs out front?) and was overjoyed to finally find a quality coffee place that doesn’t have the typical pretentious Seattle attitude you find at most other coffee shops. I’ve been back a number of times since and it’s always been great. All the staff I’ve met so far have been extremely friendly and helpful. Even the owners seem awesome. Yay! =)
Amazing food with a constantly changing selection of goodies. Homemade soup and nummy sandwiches. Actual good fresh food at a coffee place! Whoa. The coconut macaroons I had from here were seriously the best I’ve ever eaten but I’ve only seen them once. The magic bars are lovely also. Oh right. I guess the coffee is good too… they have all sorts of fancy-​sounding brands and a Clover machine and all that stuff. I’m still learning all the lingo and they’re happy to give me suggestions. Surprisingly they have some good beer on tap and wine and stuff depending on your mood… no full bar though so I can’t get an Irish Coffee. Boo.
Space is pretty big. Lots of places to sit and plug in. I guess they’re even planning on doing stuff like karaōke, trivia, and some Wii playing (?) in the future, which sounds like it could be fun. Weird but fun.
I wish they were open past 10 but I guess nobody is perfect.
…
Oh and they have a rad rooster lamp. Automatic win. Nice work Aster.

Barista’s response to «Can I also have a water?»
«You mean MAY I have a water?»
SERIOUSLY? Did you just correct my grammer?
My latte was luke warm. My friend’s tea was cold. When she asked him to re-​steam it he said that they are not allowed to do that.
Bad experience. Will not be returning.
Pros: Serves wine. Good location.

Very surprised by Aster’s coffee today. I ordered a doppio con panna and received a rather large cup for such a small drink. I’m obviously not from the area, so who am I to complain. I wish I could establish some sort of baseline for the coffee up here (Seattle), but the coffee, baristas, and atmospheres I’ve experienced on this trip are all so different and unique. Portland doesn’t even come close to that uniqueness. Although I think our coffee is pretty damn consistent compared to Seattle!
Coffee rivalry aside, my drink was fantastic. The coffee had a very acidic, almost fermented flavor! Hands down one of the most complex espressos I’ve ever had. Thank you Aster for expanding my palette today!

Very cute little café. I think the draw here is really the staff — boy are they sooo friendly! Totally blown away. Very talkative, gave great suggestions, offered to get me something else if I didn’t like their recommendation. They also wanted my feedback!
I had a yummy croissant (Beekers & Turkey). I enjoyed it, but it was very mild in the taste department. But I kind of thought that might be the case due to the turkey.
The place is small but cozy. I’ll be back for sure :)

Straight-​up, high quality coffee bar.
This is a great place, and I wish I came here more often. They have great housemade food, and are one of the few non-​Starbucks to have a Clover machine. I had the Rwanda on the Clover today, and it was just delicious.
I appreciate that they have community events (like movie night), and have breakfast and light lunch options available. They’re never terribly crowded during the workday. It’s so nice to have a coffee bar off Market Street. I’ll be stopping in again.

No complaints. Had a mocha and chowder. Mocha was so-​so, and chowder was more like a soup, but it warmed me up. Has beer on tap.

I love Aster more and more each time I visit. Though the café itself quite spacious, I always get that oh-​so cozy and intimate feeling from the warm customer service and excellent hand-​crafted beverages.
I went in this afternoon to get some work done and ordered a chai latte. The kind gentleman at the register offered to open me up and tab, and my drink was ready in seconds. It was the perfect blend of smooth, foamy soy milk and mildly sweetened, spicy chai tea.
I highly recommend to anyone who needs an inviting place to hang out while getting some studying or work done.

The last time I was there, I was harassed for not buying anything yet. I did not enjoy this. The guy came up and was like «are you going to buy anything?» with undertones of ‘if you say no, you have to leave’.
Before this happened, every time I would go I’d purchase 2 drinks for myself and 2 for my friend – no shortage of cash flow for them. Now they have lost 2 customers.

Dear Aster,
You made the best cinnamon swirl bread pudding of my whole life. It was rich and oozey and moist and full of incredible flavor. This is only a shame because since then, I have never seen you sell it again. You are a tease. Your Magic bars and lemon bars are quite good, but only shyly showing your talents.
Coffee, good, solid. Heard the Toddy’s are fantastic. Not bitter or poorly constructed. Nice location across Atmosphere? Eh. I’ve been here only the daytime and it is slightly dark full of people gloomily staring at their computer screens (job searching?). I’m guessing the nighttime with booze it may improve.
~Bread puddinggggg, please…~

I’ve heard so much about Aster that it probably became a little overhyped for me, by the time I finally went, during my last days in Seattle. I showed up on a quiet, chilly day, with nothing much to do, and sat myself down in this quaint little café with perhaps one or two other customers.
And while I can’t speak much love for their coffee, as I only found it decent, the staff was incredibly friendly — I can certainly see the draw that people have to this place.

Aster is a great place. They serve excellent quality coffee and espresso, bake their items in house, offer beer and wine, and just recently added champagne cocktails! Oh, did I mention that they have a clover machine and have fun events like tastings & bizarro movie nights.
Aster is awesome. It has a big seating area, big windows that are great for people watching, and a little patio area. The staff is knowledgable about their coffee and pour great shots. It is a good place to hang out, and even better place to stop in for a waffle. Defiantly give it a try.

I am beginning to really fall in love with Ballard (genuinely hopes this is actually considered Ballard — terrible with neighborhood identification). After moving up from Tacoma, the one thing that seemed to be missing was a comfortable coffee shop where I can drink delicious beer because I don’t like coffee at all but tend to enjoy the company of coffee drinkers. Plus, people who work at coffee shops are funny and attractive… It’s pretty much required.
**Beer on tap at a coffee shop — good. Great beer on tap at a coffee shop — fantastic.

I had two great cups of coffee here, and I was most happy to see that they sold Ritual Roaster Coffee here. Oh, and beer too!
I had an excellent coffee from El Salvador and the gf’s mezzo was one of the best she’d ever had.

Aster has really good coffee. They serve Stumptown as well as other beans. I think they rotate several varieties of beans.
I’ve always liked their lattes. The café atmosphere is trendy and their coffee is truly very good. I think the quality would please a discerning coffee lover.
They serve beer and wine and have pretty good pastries, too. Prices are on the more expensive side for coffee shops but the product is great!

A great, typical café in the coffee capital of the country.
1. Free, unlimited wifi
2. Lots of seating/​tables
3. Bran muffins!
4. Good coffee.
Just a little too typical, though. Nothing stands out about this place.
I’d come back if I were in Ballard.

Matt B. and I stopped in Aster Coffee Lounge to supply him with his daily fix. I’m not a regular coffee drinker but the place looked so pleasant and well put together that I decided to get a cup. If it were a little later in the day, I might’ve helped myself to a beer or a glass of wine. I love that you can just do that in Seattle.
There were quite a few options and a decision to make when I asked for a «coffee.» After reading a description of the Indonesian gajah aceh that boasted «aromas of blackberry… flavors of plum, toffee and earth with a buttery caramel finish,» I had to see what that cup of joe was all about. I didn’t quite swirl my cup and sniff out each thread of flavor, but it was damn good coffee. Matt got the cheapest variety, a Costa Rican coffee with «spicey [sic] molasses aromas transforming into flavors of honeycomb, date & mandarin orange» and I think I liked it even better.
The atmosphere was really chill and the pretentiousness was more limited than you might think. I enjoyed my coffee and would consider fostering an addiction at a place like Aster.

Great coffee, friendly staff, great beer & wine, happy hour, AND a Wii to play with?
Yeah… I can’t find anything NOT to love about Aster.
I wish I lived around the corner! ;)